2020 results: Dmitry Yaminsky from Azur Games on the main thing for the year
He told about the plans for the development of the Chinese directionDmitry Yaminsky, CEO of Azur Games.
Dmitry Yaminsky
How was 2020 for the company?
Our hyper-casual direction continues to develop and grow: the year began with the successful launch of Worms Zone, which topped the download tops.
Azur Games games become hits on a regular basis, and in October and November we entered the list of the largest publishers by the number of downloads according to Sensor Tower.
In general, in 2020, the company reached a new level of income and expanded its staff (now we have more than 300 people).
In addition to working with the App Store, Google Play and Amazon, our developers now have the opportunity to publish in the AppGallery and Samsung Galaxy Store. We also conducted an experiment and released the first game on the PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch consoles.
Additionally, we organized the first internship for senior students of leading universities — the most capable became part of the team and are now working on Azur Games products.
Bottom line: the company has grown 2 times in terms of the following indicators: downloads, revenue, number of products and staff.
What new trends in your niche do you consider worth paying attention to?
Apple's IDFA. The entire market is actively involved in the current situation, and services offer their own solutions. We observe a general trend towards increased attention to the confidentiality of user data.
The conflict between Epic Games and Apple. So far, the main result is a reduction in the commission for developers. We also see the growth of other mobile stores in the market, we monitor what they will offer and what position they will take.
The pandemic has changed the format of work for many companies. We are no exception. Switching to remote work was a novelty for us. If earlier not all market players boasted of complete remoteness, now every company has acquired this experience. This helped to review and optimize business processes, as well as communication processes with the team.
What new market trends would you note in general?
The main trend of the year: the hypercausal direction continues to grow in terms of revenue and an increase in the number of users.
Also, during the quarantine, people felt lonely, so socialization games are gaining popularity. Players want to communicate more with other live players. We see this trend and will direct our resources to it next year.
What else will the company rely on for its development in 2021?
First, the company will increase its infrastructure: we are ready to share our expertise with developers. In the future, they will have access to the full knowledge base of the company. We are interested in the development of our studios and try to provide new opportunities to our partners. The main goal is to create successful joint projects that will give studios financial independence.
Secondly, we will continue to work with the midcore direction and will increase our presence in this segment.
Thirdly, we will explore new niches and actively conduct various experiments.
Fourth, we are already developing the Chinese direction, working on entering the Chinese market by investing in our partner on the Chinese side: this will allow the company to publish on iOS in the territory of the main China and enter local Android markets. Our developers will have the opportunity to publish in China with the necessary documents.
Which third-party game releases are you interested in this year? Which ones did you pay attention to as a gamer?
Perhaps I should mention Among Us and Fall Guys, which have become incredibly popular thanks to their cooperative mechanics.
